For one week, 18 European students took over the IM2B laboratories in Marseille as part of the CIVIS 2026 summer school. After several months of theoretical distance learning, this intensive session enabled them to put their knowledge into practice through concrete experiments in biophysics at the molecular level.
Organized as part of a Blended Intensive Program (BIP), the CIVIS "Molecular Scale Biophysics" summer school combines a distance learning phase with physical mobility, from June 1 to 5, 2026 in Marseille. This course offers volunteer students a progressive learning process, punctuated by exercises and regular assessments. At the end of the theoretical part of the course, participants met at IMM's Joseph Aiguier site, as well as on the Timone and Luminy campuses, for a week of scientific immersion. A total of 18 students from 6 different European universities (National and Capodistrian University of Athens, University of Bucharest, Autonomous University of Madrid, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Stockholm and University of Salzburg) took part in the project.
On the IM2B premises, the students carried out numerous experimental manipulations related to the techniques studied throughout their apprenticeship. Advanced spectroscopies, hydrodynamic methods, thermodynamic techniques and real-time biosensing approaches were all part of their daily routine. Supervised by researchers, they gained hands-on experience of data analysis, sample preparation and the limitations of each method. The week also provided an opportunity to foster international exchanges and strengthen collaborations around molecular-scale biophysics, a field at the crossroads of many scientific disciplines.
